Saturday, December 19, 2015

Mantid Magazine Takes Active Approach To Diversity In Genre Writing

*From the media kit:

Mantid Magazine is an arts and literary publication celebrating artists, writers, and media creators from various backgrounds who illustrate the power of diversity through their identities and their work. The magazine was created to celebrate unique/alternative/underground entertainment media, and to serve as a platform for marginalized groups in the arts (women, LGBTQA, people of color, and the differently-abled).

Mantid focuses on publishing genre work including weird fiction, horror, dark fantasy, magic realism, and dark science fiction. Our ultimate goal at Mantid is to foster a diverse creative community and to bring unique, fiercely human voices to the forefront of modern speculative storytelling.

Farah R. Smith, founder and editor-in-chief asserts, "the demand for intersectionality in fiction, specifically horror, science fiction, and fantasy, has long been a topic of discomfort to those who adhere to the tried and true paradigm of traditional literary publication. There are those who embrace this discomfort, and know that without it, there will be stagnation in the pursuit of understanding, little innovation and greater difficulty in creating a cultural shift towards equality.

People have asked what can be done to make the horror and speculative communities (particularly the weird fiction community) not only inclusive, but welcoming. We need to breakdown the idea that it is an inconceivable venture, and seek to bring together communities of people who realize that the examination of the fears not intrinsic to their own experience is culturally significant, critically important in terms of artistic innovation, and long overdue."

Mantid is currently searching for thoughtful contributions primarily from writers who are

women, LGBTQA, people of color, and/or differently-abled. Below is a description of the submission guidelines: